Lawrence, Kansas – Friday evening in the Phog, and we are glued to the television. No. 9 seed UNC walks into Phog Allen Fieldhouse to take on No. 1 seed Kansas in an early-season top-10 college basketball matchup.

While they won’t be paired together individually, an interesting combination in this game will have some implications for the Naismith Trophy early in the season. Returning seniors RJ Davis (UNC) and Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) will be on the field together. Dickinson started the season at No. 3 on On3’s College Basketball Preseason Player list, and Davis started at No. 4.

Appetizers

U.N.C: So. G Eliot GiftSr. G RJ DavisJr. G Seth TrimbleJr. F Jalen WashingtonSr. F Jae’lyn Withers

Kansas: Sr. G Dajuan HarrisJr. G Rylan GriffenSr. G David CoitSr. F KJ AdamsSr. C Hunter Dickinson

UNC vs. Kansas; Live blog

6:40 PM 1H – UNC guard RJ Davis coming out of the gate very aggressive. He drills a three on the Tar Heels’ second possession and then finds a burst of speed as he pushes the break to draw the foul on the basket. Davis knocks down both free throws as UNC takes an early lead. – UNC 5, Kansas 2

13:53 1H – Kansas goes on the run, led by Hunter Dickinson. He gets even at 10 and then runs ahead on the break to put on the block and delivers an excellent pass for KJ Adams’ dunk. Two plays later, Dickinson finishes on the block over his right shoulder. He runs back and undersigns UNC big. Dickinson at a very high level here. – Kansas 19, UNC 17

12:11 1H – UNC freshman Drake Powell And Ian Jackson both made big plays for UNC. Jackson drills a wing three and makes a block at the basket and Powell with a create finish at the basket. Both came off the bench and finished among a stream of Kansas buckets. – Kansas 25, UNC20

11:00 1H – Media Timeout – UNC struggles to get stops. Kansas gets to the rim in transition and finds open looks in the half court. KJ Adams’ activity has been difficult to contain for the Tar Heels, especially when combined with the size and skills of Hunter Dickinson. We’ll see what adjustments UNC makes. – Kansas 27, UNC20

6:32 1H – One thing about Ian Jackson is that the man has never lacked confidence. The 6-foot-2 freshman steps into wing three to stop the leaking faucet. UNC will need to make some stops, Kansas seems to be scoring on every possession at this point. – Kansas 39, UNC 27

1:44 1H – Flory Bidunga hits the free throw to increase the lead to 20 points. The Jayhawks are currently 21-34 from the field. Kansas 49, UNC 29

Rest; Kansas 53, UNC 38

This first half went as bad as it could get for UNC. Kansas got everything they wanted offensively as they won the turnover battle (7-2) and the battle for boards (21-18)

UNC is shooting 35.5% (11-31) from the field and 27.3 (3-11) from three. They shoot 13-14 from the FT line. Only four assists on eleven field goals made.

Kansas is led by senior forward KJ Adams with 14 points and senior guard Zeke Mayo 10 points. The Jayhawks are shooting 59.5% (22-37) from the field. They have assisted 13 of 22 field goals made.

UNC vs. Kansas; Second half